“He and some of the others used to come to me with questions frequently. “Dave was part of a group of us who liked to build computers from parts for fun,” he said. (Hancock is currently director of advanced cyberinfrastructure for UITS Research Technologies.) “I had a fresh-out-of-high-school, 18-year-old young man named Dave Hancock on my floor,” he recalled.
#Ius.edu oncourse free#
Lured by the prospect of free room and board as a resident assistant in Ball Residence Hall, IUPUI’s only dorm at the time, Lowden was in charge of the freshmen men’s floor. How he made his way to IU’s tech organization is a funny story, with a special UITS guest star. “It's amazing how calculus becomes a foreign language when you haven't done academic math in 10 years,” he said, laughing. It had been a minute since he was a college student, and Lowden found that he had to start over earning credits. He enrolled at IUPUI to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer technology. The Marion, Ind., native accepted his honorable discharge and headed back home again to the Hoosier state. Not to mention, I promised my parents, especially my father, that I would finish my college degree.” A pivotal dorm-floor connection But it had become very clear to me-from my military experience and traveling around the world-that education is the most important thing that I could be a part of. “I had a great time and incredible experience in the Navy,” he said. All told, Lowden has been to 50 countries and four of seven continents. Soon after, he made his way to the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Bush’s farewell to the troops and Bill Clinton’s 1993 presidential inauguration.Īfter two years of pomp and circumstance, Lowden’s next Navy experience was several months of training to become a search and rescue swimmer. In that capacity, he lived in Washington, D.C., and performed his duties at ceremonies such as President George H.
His first goal was to become a Navy SEAL, but early on he realized he was not fully prepared for the rigors of that calling and he was eventually handpicked to become a member of the Navy Ceremonial Guard, the official honor guard of the U.S. When talking with Lowden, you get the sense that his time in the service was formative, fun, and life changing. I'm a huge soccer fan-Manchester United is my favorite premier league team,” he said. “They are all in a variety of activities, but every one of them plays traveling soccer. They are, left to right: Brandon (14), Tyler (9), Alyssa (7), and Austin (13). Lowden and his wife, Aries, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Riley Hospital for Children, are the proud parents of four active children. (Spoiler alert: He makes it back to education.)Ī soccer-loving clan. Much to his parents’ dismay, he put his education on hold and began a five-year journey as a U.S. He enlisted soon after the Persian Gulf War began, determined to get to the action and do his part even though he was attending Rockford University (then known as Rockford College) on a leadership scholarship and playing on the soccer team. Lowden learned the value of workplace diversity as a young man in the Navy, where all five of his commanding officers happened to be women. I’m very proud that when I was associate vice president of Enterprise Systems, 50 percent or more of my leadership team was not that stereotypical past.” Shipshape start to adulthood When I came into IT, to say that it was a male-dominated industry was an understatement. “Especially some of the women that I’ve worked with. “I’m most proud of my ability to play a part in developing the careers of the people who work for me, and they’ve gone on to great things,” Lowden said, who came back to OVPIT as CIO after about 18 months as the IU School of Medicine’s first-ever CIO. But when asked what he considers his greatest achievement so far, his answer isn’t about his own success.
Rob Lowden had quite a career even before stepping into his latest role as vice president for IT and CIO at IU.
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